Little Known Facts
by JessieJay13
Summary: Harry, Ron and Hermione break a timeturner and end up 40 years in the past. They live under false names, befriend their parents, and learn some little known facts they wish they never had...
1. Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1

'Hermione, what are you fiddling with?' Ron asked curiously, trying to peek over her shoulder at what ever she had in her hands. She quickly hid it from view. Harry saw something glinting in the moonlight streaming through the windows of the common room.

'Oh, nothing, Ron,' she said hastily, turning around with her hands behind her back. Harry looked at her skeptically.

'No, really, Hermione,' he said persuasively. 'What are you doing? We are your friends! Don't we deserve to know? It's not like it's illegal, or anything, is it?' he said, chuckling at the idea of Hermione doing anything illegal. Hermione just stood there looking tense and not moving at all.

'No,' Ron said, saying it to convince himself more than his friends, staring at Hermione incredulously. 'No, Hermione, you are so not doing anything illegal.' Hermione's eyes darted around, as though looking for an escape and, finding none, she gave Ron a guilty smile. He gasped.

'Hermione!' Harry exclaimed, shocked to say the least. 'You are the absolute last person I would suspected of breaking a rule, much less the law! Well, at least not without our prodding and encouraging,' he said, gesturing to himself and Ron.

'What are you hiding back there that's against the law?!' Ron asked eagerly, lunging to grab Hermione's hands. She kept one hand, tightly clutching something, as far out of his reach as he could while the other hand was on his chest, keeping him away.

'Guys, lay off it, will you? It's late,' Harry said, stepping in and trying to break them apart. They ignored him. Ron had gotten a hold of the chain of whatever Hermione was hiding. They were having a tug of war over the thin gold chain, the object dangling from it still clutched in Hermione's hand.

'Guys, I said 'LAY OFF IT,' Harry yelled, grabbing hold of the middle of the length of chain just as Ron gave an almighty wrenching pull, and it snapped.

A bright white light engulfed the group and, much like a portkey, the were lifted off the ground. They sped swiftly through the air, then landed hard on the ground in the room the had just left. They all staggered but managed to stay upright. They looked at each other warily.

'What was that?' Ron asked, his voice sounding very much higher than usual, pinched and strained. His eyes were wide in fear. Something felt different, out of place.

'I don't know,' Harry answered. His voice didn't have the panic-stricken sound of Ron's but more of a suspicious caution. Hermione moaned. Harry glanced at her and saw that she was looking at the thing in her hand, half the chain dangling from it, with an expression of worry, regret and fear.

'You broke it, Ron!' she yelled. 'I wasn't even supposed to have it! How can I return it if it's broken?!' She threw it at Ron and he caught it.

It was a timeturner. The small golden hourglass, filled with glittering white sand, and surrounded by two thin golden rings, one fixed and one spinning. The glass of the hourglass was cracked and sand was trickling steadily out of the small hole and piling in his hand. He stared at it in amazed fascination.

'Hermione,' he breathed, his voice full of awe and surprise. 'Where did you get this? You had one in third year but you aren't taking that many classes this year. Why?' He looked up at her as if he were seeing her for the first time. Hermione rolled her eyes and snatched the miniscule timeturner back from him.

'I wanted to lighten up and have a little fun but I couldn't do that with all the classes I was taking so I decided that, since I seem to be more competent than half the ministry employees, I might as well take what I want,' she said, twiddling it in her fingers and looking innocent, but with a wicked glint in her eye.

Harry gaped at her, his mouth hanging open. Hermione chuckled at the stunned looks on both the boy's faces. 'Oh, don't look so surprised, boys,' she said, sauntering up to them, smirking, looking much more like a Slytherin than a Gryffindor at the moment. 'You aren't the only ones who break rules, you know. Not hearing about it is just a sign that it was done right. No one knows it's done. Can't get caught that way, can you?'

'Hermione!' Ron said loudly. 'This is _so_ unlike you!'

'No, this is unlike the me _you _know,' she said nonchalantly. 'You guys snuck into the ministry as well, if my memory serves, as it should considering I was there,' she informed him coldly. 'and you caused a lot more damage and a big uproar but, as you can see, no one even knows I took this but they will by the time they take stock and notice that one is not there!' she yelled, looking furiously at Ron.

'Hey, will you guys keep it down!? It's four in the morning!' a voice yelled from up the stairs to their left. All three looked up and were surprised to see a boy of about their age gaping back at them. A boy that looked almost exactly like Harry.


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

The boy was most definitely their age with messy, untamable black hair, that stood up in the back in the same place Harry's did, knobby knees and the exact same shaken expression on his face as Harry. The only thing different was that his eyes were not the shocking emerald green, but a cerulean blue.

For a moment, no one moved at all. Then, slowly, the boy on the stairs began to creep toward them, never taking his eyes off of Harry. It took awhile but soon the two nearly identical boys were face to face. They were even the same height! Suddenly, Harry gasped, a look of incredulous recognition on his face. The other boy looked mildly taken aback, not to mention confused.

'James?' Harry asked tentatively. Ron and Hermione gasped as well, as though realizing something obvious yet unexpected, and the other boy took a step back.

'How do you know my name?' he asked defensively, pointing a slightly trembling finger at Harry. He was shaken, very shaken, at the sight of a boy who looked so much like him and who just happened to know who he was. Harry took a step toward him.

'I'm your s…I mean, you have a reputation as a bit of a trouble maker,' Harry said, hesitating a bit. It would be a bit traumatizing for James if he claimed to be his son even though he probably hadn't even married his mother yet. 'I've heard of you.' He looked skeptical but Harry continued.

'These,' Harry said, gesturing to Ron and Hermione, who were just standing there, openmouthed, gaping at the unusual scene unfolding before them. 'are my friends…' he hesitated again. He wasn't sure if he should use their real names. Hermione caught his eye and stepped forward, shaking herself out of her stupor.

'I'm…Miranda. Miranda Caldwell' Hermione lied, holding her hand out for James to shake. He did so, rather reluctantly, and they all looked to Ron. Seeing Ron making no move to introduce himself, Harry walked over and gave him a shove in the back.

'Oh, I'm, uh, Charlie…Donald,' he choked out. James looked at him oddly and then nodded. Harry rolled his eyes at his lack of originality and stepped forward himself.

'I'm Vince. Vince Scheuron,' he said calmly. He shook hands with his would-be-father and looked around. The common room looked the same as when they left but some of the furniture looked newer and there were different books strewn around and such.

'So,' James said nervously. 'Why are you guys here, Vince?' Harry looked back at him, unsure of who he was talking to for a moment. Then he remember that that was him.

'Oh, well, uh, we just transferred and we got sorted last night when we got here and we were in Gryffindor so we just came down here,' he made up, quickly. Harry thought he was sounding a little flustered but James seemed to buy it.

'All three of you?' he asked Hermione and Ron. They nodded. 'What school did you transfer from?' he sounded a bit interested but Harry thought he was really trying to find holes in their story. Hermione spoke up.

'They came from Durmstrang and I came from Beauxbaton but we live in the same area when school was out so we decided to come here so we wouldn't be separated so much,' she said reasonably. Harry looked at her, very much appreciating her quick thinking.

'Yeah, and we need to see the Headmaster first thing in the morning,' Ron said, speaking voluntarily for the first time since there arrival. 'Can you direct us to their office?' James nodded.

'First thing in the morning. Where are you guys staying?' Harry looked hopefully at Ron and Hermione, who were also looking a little alarmed.

'We don't know yet,' Harry said. James looked at him.

'Then why did you come up here if you had no where to stay?' he said mockingly. Harry rolled his eyes.

'We were just doing what the Headmaster told us to. He said, 'Go to Gryffindor tower and stay there till morning.'' he said quickly. 'We'll just stay here in the common room till morning and then we'll go see the Headmaster.' His friends nodded and James put his hands up in defeat and began walking back up to his dorm.

'Okay,' he said, bending over the railing of the stairs. 'I'll take you there in the morning.' And with that, James Potter went back up to bed, his mind reeling about what had just happened.

'Wow, that was close,' Harry said, letting out a breath he didn't know he had been holding, collapsing into a big fluffy armchair. 'Where, or should I say 'when' are we,_ Miranda_?' he asked, putting a mocking emphasis on Hermione's chosen name. She rolled her eyes and lay down on the couch.

'Oh, I don't know, _Vince_,' she replied, doing the same. 'P.S. Way to steal your brother's name. Really original, _Charlie_,' Hermione added sarcastically. Ron seemed to puff up indignantly.

'Well, I was a little freaked if you didn't notice,' he said hotly. He sat down in another armchair and crossed his arms across his chest, looking irritable. 'What just happened, anyway?'

'I just said, I don't know,' Hermione moaned, rolling over onto her side, facing the two boys. 'Something happened when you broke my timeturner. We got transported back in time about forty years, I'd guess,' she said. Harry nodded.

'Question is, how do we get back, and what do we do in the meantime?' Harry said, agitatedly fidgeting with a hole in the arm of his chair. When no one answered him, he sighed heavily.

'Well, as long as we're here, we might as well get some sleep,' Hermione sighed, rolling over. Harry nodded and leaned back, closing his eyes and thinking, _**'I just met my father…' **_


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

Harry was roused by someone shaking his shoulders. He moaned and opened his eyes. He jumped. For a moment, he thought he was looking into a mirror, then the memory of the previous day came flooding back and he was overcome by such a sense of lightheadedness that he had to steady himself by clutching the arms of the chair he was sitting in.

'Come on, Vince,' James Potter said, pulling Harry to his feet. 'We're going to go see Headmaster Dippet.' Harry nodded and walked over to Ron and Hermione, still asleep.

'Wake up, _Miranda_, _Charlie_,' Harry said loudly. Hermione sat up and Ron just moaned and turned in his chair blearily. Harry shook Ron and pulled Hermione to her feet.

'Good morning, Ha…Vince,' she caught herself. Harry smiled at her. 'Is Charlie going to wake up anytime soon?' Harry rolled his eyes and he and Hermione pulled Ron forcibly out of his chair so that he fell flat on the floor. He sat bolt upright, looking around wildly.

'Ah!' he yelled. Harry chuckled and helped him stand.

'Come on, _Charlie_,' Harry said, putting a large emphasis on his fake name to remind him of their new characters. 'We're going to see the Headmaster now.' Ron looked highly confused for a moment, then a very obvious look of shocked recognition came over him and Harry raised his eyebrows warningly at him.

'Okay, Ha…Vince?' he said uncertainly. Harry nodded discreetly and shoved Ron in the back. James was waiting tolerantly by the portrait hole, Hermione by his side, tapping her foot impatiently. The trio followed James through the portrait hole and down the familiar corridors of Hogwarts. Soon, they came to the two ugly gargoyles that flanked the Headmaster's office.

'Unity,' James said, the gargoyles leapt aside and the wall slid open to reveal a smoothly turning spiral staircase. 'I won't come with you. You guys go ahead. Professor Dippet should be in his office. Just follow the stairs,' he instructed. The three nodded and stepped onto the perpetual escalator.

As soon as the wall slid shut behind them, Hermione whispered a spell and the staircase abruptly stopped moving. Then she turned worriedly to the boys. 'What are we going to tell him?' Ron shrugged.

'Uh, the truth?' Harry suggested. Ron goggled at him and Hermione looked skeptical.

'Do you really think he'll believe us?' she asked agitatedly, wringing her hands in frustration. 'I heard Dippet was sort of uptight.'

'What other choice do we have? We tell him the truth, ask if he has a way to get us back to the present and, if he doesn't, just wait it out as Vince, Miranda and Charlie until we can find a way,' Harry sighed. He looked resigned, Hermione was worried and Ron just a tad overwhelmed.

Hermione took her charm off the stairs and they stepped onto a platform in front of a large, ornate door Harry had seen too many times. He knocked on the door, rather bravely in the other's opinions, and was granted entrance.

It looked more or less like it did under Dumbledore's period in office; the same desk and the same sorting hat. The puffing and whirring instruments were missing, along with Fawkes the Phoenix and Gryffindor's sword. Also, the line of portraits of previous Headmasters was a bit shorter.

The man sitting behind the desk was nothing like Dumbledore. He was shorter, he lacked the long silvery hair and beard and the serene calm that always seemed to surround Dumbledore. He was aging and balding a bit on the top. His brown hair was beginning to turn gray and he had crows feet at the corners of his eyes. He looked old, wise and stern. At the moment, he also looked very curious as to why there were three unfamiliar teenagers in his office.

'James?' he asked uncertainly. Harry stepped forward awkwardly.

'No, sir, I'm not James Potter. I don't know how to tell you this but, I'm actually his son, Harry Potter,' Harry confessed. Professor looked very perplexed at this and shook his head.

'No, no, no,' he said. 'You must be the same age as James and therefore couldn't be his son. If you're not James, who are you?'

'I just told you, I'm Harry Potter. James Potter's son,' Harry insisted. 'My friends, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, and I broke a timeturner and somehow ended up here, forty odd years in the past.' Dippet looked thoroughly unconvinced.

'We can prove it to you,' Hermione said, stepping to the foreground. Dippet eyes her warily. 'Ask us anything you want to know about the nineteen nineties.'

'Who is Headmaster of Hogwarts?' he asked after a moment of consideration.

'Albus Dumbledore,' Ron said quickly. 'Well, actually, it's McGonagall now, but it was Dumbledore last year,' he corrected sadly. Dippet nodded, seeing the sense in this, and wondering why Dumbledore had been put out of power.

'Is You-Know-Who still in power?' he asked hesitantly. He would never admit it but he was curious. He had no doubt that these strange people were from the future. How else could they have gotten into the school without setting off any alarms?

'No, but he's been gaining recently,' Harry said firmly. Dippet ogled at him.

'Who defeated him?' he asked, not bothering to mask his interest.

'Me,' Harry said without any qualms whatsoever. Dippet actually laughed out loud. In response, Harry lifted his bangs to expose his scar.

'Curse scar,' he explained. 'It only happens when someone is touched by an evil curse. There was this big prophecy thing, Voldemort tried to kill me, but his spell rebounded upon him. He was reduced to a spirit and fled into the Albanian forest. His Death Eaters recently returned to him and he's been getting stronger but he hasn't managed to take over yet.'

Dippet just stared at him, amazed at this information. He wasn't at all sure it was true but the information seemed plausible, if not probable, and the speaker seemed sincere, even nonchalant.

'Okay, if all this is true, who are your parents?' He knew he shouldn't pry but he was simply curious.

'Mine are, as I told you, James Potter and Lily Evans,' Harry said. 'And my godfather is Sirius Black.'

'Really?' Dippet asked, raising his eyebrows in surprise. 'James and Lilly hate each other.' Even though he was Headmaster, Dippet knew very much about his students lives. Harry just rolled his eyes.

'Arthur Weasley and Molly…I don't know my mother's maiden name,' Ron said to himself, amazed and dismayed at his own ignorance. When he thought about it, Dippet could easily picture that pair so he looked to Hermione.

'My parents are both muggles,' she said. Dippet nodded. 'Do you have any idea how to get us back to the future?' she asked hopefully.

'Nothing has ever prepared me for something for this,' Dippet murmured, nervously wringing his hands and biting his lip. 'Honestly, I have no idea,' he admitted. Hermione's face fell and Harry sighed.

'Well, what do we do until we can find a way to get home?' he asked calmly. Dippet didn't answer right away. 'We met James last night and we sort of told him we were Vince Scheuron, Miranda Caldwell and Charlie Donald.'

'Just continue with those names, make up a story, and I'll back you up. You're seventh year?' They nodded. 'Gryffindor?' They nodded again. 'Okay. Just go where you usually would, go to the same classes as James, and try to fit in as best you can. We'll figure something out. Would you rather you had your own private dormitory, just for the three of you?' The trio looked at each other excitedly and nodded in unison. 'Okay.'


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

Harry thanked Headmaster Dippet and led Hermione and Ron down the spiraling staircase and out into the corridor. James was leaning on the wall by the gargoyles with a handsome man of about the same height and age, with black, shoulder-length hair and black eyes. Sirius Black.

Harry stopped short, his breath caught in his throat, and a tear sprang to his eye, but he pushed it down. This was his godfather, a younger version of the man he was responsible for the death of, the man who had died trying to defend Harry, and who's death weighed on his conscience everyday.

'Hey, Vince. This is my best friend Sirius. Sirius Black,' James said, straightening up and gesturing to Sirius, who bowed in exaggerated eloquence. Harry nodded, and smiled at his godfather, forcing himself under control.

'Hi, Sirius,' Harry said pleasantly. 'I'm Vince and my friends are Miranda and Charlie,' he introduced, waving Ron and Hermione forward. Sirius bowed to them each in turn, making Hermione giggle delightedly, which caused Ron to shoot him a dirty look.

'Hello, Vince, Miranda, and Charlie,' he said, flashing them a brilliantly white smile. Hermione smiled warmly at him, Ron nodded in an annoyed fashion, and Harry shook his hand. 'When did you guys get here?'

'We just got here last night,' Hermione volunteered, stepping forward and shaking his hand as well. 'I transferred from Beauxbatons and they from Durmstrang. We knew each other from our neighborhoods and wanted to go to the same school so we all transferred here.'

'Well, that's friendly,' Sirius said, smiling around at them. 'It's about time for breakfast. Do you guys want to eat with us? What house are you in?' he asked curiously, leading them down to the Great Hall.

'We're all in Gryffindor,' Ron said proudly, crossing his arms across chest. 'Same as you two.'

'Great. You can eat with us, Remus, Peter and Lilly,' James suggested. He pushed open the doors to the Great Hall and walked in, not noticing or caring that every eye had turned to him and the new guy who looked just like him.

Sirius, Harry, Hermione, and Ron followed him and sat down at the Gryffindor table with a scrawny, book-wormy boy, a heavy mousy-haired boy, and a pretty girl with almond shaped, bright emerald eyes. Eyes exactly like Harry's. Harry's mother, Lilly Evans.

'Lilly, Remus, Peter,' James said motioning grandly to Harry, Ron and Hermione. 'These are Vince Scheuron, Miranda Caldwell, and Charlie Donald.' There was a chorus of greetings and questions. 'All in Gryffindor,' he added.

'But we get our own dormitory since we started late,' Harry said excitedly, sitting down between Ron and Sirius, and across from Remus. Remus and Sirius were the two of the group, besides Ron and Hermione, that he had actually met, and liked. As far as he was concerned, Peter could jump off a cliff.

'Cool,' Lilly said. She smiled at Harry and he smiled back, sincere in the tenderness. 'So, what classes are you taking?'

'Headmaster Dippet told us just to go to all the same classes as James,' Ron confessed. 'We didn't get schedules so we're just going to follow you around, okay?' he directed at James.

'Uh, sure,' he said uncertainly. They all loaded their plates and talked, Harry making up answers to the questions they asked. By the end, all three time-travelers had long forgotten their apprehension and were thoroughly enjoying themselves with their new friends.

As they were walking back toward the Gryffindor common room, Ron asked, 'Do you know Arthur Weasley?' James thought for a moment, then snapped his fingers.

'Yes! He's Gryffindor, too, right?' Ron nodded. 'Yeah. He's dating that Molly girl, isn't he, Sirius?'

'Yeah,' he said. 'You know, he did pretty well for himself, getting a girl like that. Bloody gorgeous, that one is,' Sirius praised. Ron looked confounded. Harry understood his confusion, looking back on the dumpy little woman he knew from the burrow.

'You know him?' James asked, sounding a bit surprised. Ron just gaped at him, at a loss for excuses.

'Er, he, uh, lived in our neighborhood?' Harry tried, jumping to Ron's rescue and trying not to sound too shifty. James seemed to tolerate this answer so he turned to Ron.

'Charlie, you have to be more careful about the questions you ask,' he warned in his ear. 'Any little thing could single us out and make it really obvious that we're not telling the truth.' Ron nodded.

'Sorry, Harry. Oops! I mean Vince,' he whispered. Harry rolled his eyes and turned back to James and Sirius. They were talking about Quidditch.

'I'm telling you, you make it look so easy to catch that stupid Snitch but no one else seems able to do it,' Sirius was saying, looking annoyed. 'You are such a show off.' He playfully punched James in the arm and James ran his fingers through his hair, making it look wind-ruffled, like he had just got off a broom.

'Hey, I play Quidditch,' Harry interjected. 'I was seeker on the Durmstrang team,' he lied. James and Sirius' interest in him seemed to double visibly.

'And I was Keeper,' Ron said, coming up beside Harry. Hermione rolled her eyes, knowing she was in for a long, long Quidditch talk if she stayed, and fell back to talk to Lilly.

'I'd love to try you out,' James challenged, smiling that charming crooked smile of his.

'I'll take you up on that tomorrow,' Harry agreed. They shook hands to solidify the deal. 'Have you ever tried a Wronski Feint?' James' eyes lit up.

'Yeah, I've used that before,' he said. 'It won me the last match of the season last year. Won Gryffindor the Quidditch Cup.' James was in his element, as was Harry. They launched themselves into a lengthy discussion of tactics and reliving favorite moments. Ron talked to Sirius about more broad Quidditch topics.

'So,' Hermione said innocuously, walking slowly beside Lilly. Lilly tore her eyes away from the boys in front of them and looked at her, suddenly nervous.

'So what?' she asked, sounding a bit jumpy. Hermione smiled knowingly at her.

'I see the way you look at him,' she said. Lilly shook her head, beginning to speak but Hermione continued. 'Look, I've had my share of crushes and this one is obviously more than that. You should tell him.'

'No, no, no!' she said. 'I can't tell him. I've spent too much of my time convincing him that I think he's an obnoxious moron to tell him I like him! It would just make him even more cocky,' she explained.

'That's no reason to keep from telling him,' Hermione said, unrelenting. 'You obviously have a good time with him or you wouldn't be his friend and you definitely like him or you wouldn't spend half the day staring at him.'

Lilly took on a cornered look. 'I know. He's talented, funny, charming, sweet when he wants to be, not to mention smoking hot,' Lilly said longingly, glancing over to him. Hermione laughed.

'How true. You should tell him. He might feel the same way,' she said, shouldering Lilly a bit, smiling mischievously. She managed to coax a slight smile out of Lilly and, when she continued, she got a laugh.

'Okay, okay,' Lilly chuckled. 'Maybe.'


	5. Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5

Harry, Hermione and Ron followed Headmaster Dippet excitedly to their new private dormitories. There, they would be able to drop their façade of Vince, Miranda and Charlie, which would be a relief no matter how much they liked their new, or should they say 'old', companions.

'Here you are,' Dippet said, gesturing them to a portrait of a young girl in a field of flowers. 'You can make up whatever password you like. There's a small kitchen in there, so you don't have to go down to the Great Hall if you don't want to, there are two bathrooms, three bedrooms and a sitting room, so you won't be lacking in anything. Feel free to visit the Gryffindor common room at any time.'

'Thanks for all this, Professor Dippet,' Hermione said, smiling at him. 'It would be murder to stay in their dorms. We would never be able to use our real names!'

'No problem,' he said. 'The portrait hole will open to, and save, the first password you give it so be sure you can remember it. Have a nice day.' Headmaster Dippet strode away down the corridor, leaving the trio alone.

'What should the password be?' Harry asked. 'I think it should be something like 'future'. It'd be easy to remember and no one else would think of that,' he suggested. The others nodded and he turned to the portrait. 'The new password is,' he said firmly. 'future.'

The girl in the portrait nodded and swung forward to admit them. Their common room was furnished much like a miniature version of the Gryffindor one. There was a kitchen in the corner and a door in each wall leading to a bedroom. Everything was either red or gold. It was perfect.

Hermione headed to claim her bedroom, Harry flopped down on a couch, and Ron headed straight to the kitchen. Typical. Hermione came back and sat on the rug before the fireplace, as Ron returned, a plate piled high with munchies in his hands.

'Well, what do we do now?' he asked through a mouthful of brownie. 'We know our classes, we have friends, sort of, we have our own rooms, and we have aliases. What next?'

'I guess we just go through our year as usual,' Harry said wearily, sitting up. 'We need to research ways of getting back to our own time period. For the time being, we just lay low and blend in. And don't forget your alibis. They're smart people, they'll catch any incongruities in our stories,' he warned.

'Right. We are now Vince Scheuron, Charlie Donald and Miranda Caldwell. We used to go to Durmstrang and Beauxbaton until we transferred here to be together. We used our real birthdays just so we wouldn't have to memorize new ones and we can keep our interests the same,' Hermione listed carefully.

'Good. You got that, Ron?' Harry asked. He nodded, unable to speak due to the large chunk of turkey blocking his mouth. 'Okay. I'm tired, I'll see you all tomorrow,' he said, heading to the door on the left. Ron, taking his food with him, went to the one on the right, and Hermione to the center. This year was sure to be a confusing one.

The next day, all three found that their wardrobes had been filled with period clothing. They met in their common room, debating whether they should go to the Great Hall or if they should stay and eat in their mini-kitchen, and reviewing their stories. Ron eventually won out and they trouped down to the crowded and stare-filled Great Hall to eat breakfast.

'Hey, Vince,' James called, waving them over to him and his friends. 'Since you'll be coming to all my classes, do you guys have all the books and supplies you need or will you need to borrow some?' he asked once they had situated themselves.

'Um…' Harry stalled, not quite knowing what to say. He glanced up at Dippet, caught his eye, and subtly mimed writing. He got a discreet nod and turned back to James. 'Yes, we have supplies. We shouldn't need to borrow any from you guys. So, what is our first class?' he asked, pulling a large plate of eggs toward him and beginning to eat.

'Ugh, potions,' Sirius moaned. 'Slughorn's okay and all, but I just hate everything about that subject. And we have it with the Slytherins, which means Snively will be there,' he added with disgust, glancing over at the Slytherin table.

Harry followed his gaze and was shocked to see Severus Snape, his limp greasy hair hanging in his face and his nose an inch from a dark arts book. Then he remembered a certain memory he had seen in a pensieve, and he shuddered. He glanced at the almost identical boy on his left, wondering how he could do something so callous as to hang Snape up my his ankles and threaten to take off his pants.

He shook his head and went back to eating. Hermione was deep in quiet conversation with Lily, though it was frequently punctuated by giggles, and Ron was once again discussing Quidditch with Sirius.

'…and our match last year was great! We beat out Ravenclaw 370 to 20! We stomped those losers into the dust!' Sirius was saying, proudly.

'Speaking of Quidditch,' Harry said, remembering he and James' deal. 'when do we get to play you?' James thought for a moment, then shrugged.

'How about today?' he suggested. 'The pitch is free and we won't have too much homework; it's still early in the year. You and Charlie against me and Sirius.'

'Hey! What about me?' Lily interjected, peeved at being left out. 'I play, too, you know.'

'Yes, but Miranda doesn't and that would give us an uneven number. We need equal teams for everything to be fair,' Harry explained. Lily rolled her eyes, defeated, and turned back to Hermione.

'Fine, but I get to play one of you later,' she said, looking pointedly at Harry and Ron. Harry raised his hand, curious at how good of a Quidditch player his mother was. 'And, Miranda, I'm teaching you how to play. By the end of the year, you'll be as good as any of these losers.'

Hermione looked very skeptical, and a bit scared, at this. She had fallen off a broom too many times to be all that enthusiastic about riding again. She had barely made it through the flying class in their first year! The only class she got even close to failing…ever.

'Great,' Harry said, eager to get back in the air; it had been almost a week since he had flown. 'What kind of school brooms do you guys have? I used to have a firebolt but…' he trailed off, remembering that those hadn't been invented yet. 'A foreign brand,' he lied, trying to cover up his blunder and tie it in with his alias.

'We have Comet 260s,' Sirius said. 'We'll get you a good one. Some of them veer off to the left when you fly, a couple even try to buck you off. And we won't fix the game, we promise,' he added, winking.

'Good idea, mate. Otherwise, we'd have to curse you and we'd hate to have to do that,' Harry said sweetly. James and Sirius stared at them for a second, then burst out laughing. Harry and Ron joined in, soon followed by Lily and Hermione.

'Good one, Vince,' James chuckled. 'So, me and Sirius against you and Charlie. Today at, say, six o'clock?' he suggested. After mutual consent, they went back to eating, Harry and Ron considerably happier than before.


	6. Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6

Harry and Ron made their way, laughing and joking, down to the Quidditch pitch. It was exactly like it was in their day, only a little shinier, newer. They spotted James and Sirius by the broom cupboard and headed in their direction.

'Hey, guys. You didn't cop out, I'm impressed,' James called arrogantly as they approached. Harry rolled his eyes, suddenly reminded of Malfoy before every Quidditch match.

'Why would we? We're going to stomp you in the dust,' Ron called back. James threw them two brooms, a little beat up but essentially in good condition. 'Are these good ones?'

'Yeah, you can have a few test laps if you want. We wouldn't take advantage of inexperience, since you've never ridden this kind of broom before,' Sirius said. Harry immediately mounted the broom and kicked off.

It was bliss, to be flying again. He was in his element, back where he belonged, in the sky, wind rushing through his hair. He tested the limits of the broom, speeding up as much as he could, going as high as he could, testing the reaction time. All in all, it was a decent broom. They had a chance at winning this match.

Harry signaled to Ron and they landed in front of Sirius and James. Sirius looked mildly impressed, nodding slightly. James had a carefully guarded expression.

'Where are the balls? Are we using bludgers, or just the quaffle and the snitch?' Harry asked as he dismounted.

James pulled out a heavy wooden box and opened it. 'No bludgers, yet. We don't have any Beaters and we don't want you to get hurt, now do we?' he asked.

'I'm no stranger to getting hurt! I once got my right arm broken by a rogue bludger and then a moron tried to fix it and ended up vanishing all the bones in that arm. It took all night to re-grow them and it was very painful. I do not suggest ever using Skelo-grow; it tastes really bad and hurts like crap,' Harry reminisced, frowning at the memory.

'Smooth,' Sirius chuckled. 'Sucks for you, mate. We won't use the bludgers just for that reason.'

James pulled out a large red ball the size of a soccer ball, the quaffle, and threw it to Ron. Then he opened a tiny door in the inside of the box lid and took out a tiny golden ball the size of a walnut with fluttering wings, the quaffle, holding it in his hand so it wouldn't fly off yet.

'Who serves?' he asked.

'I will!' someone called from the stands. They all looked up to see Hermione and Lily sitting in the highest seats. 'We couldn't pass up seeing such tremendous fireworks,' Lily explained, hopping down the seats toward them.

Lily snatched a broom out of the cupboard and flew toward them. She took the quaffle from Ron and the snitch from James and flew off to the center of the pitch, high above the ground. The others flew up to join her.

'Now, I want a fair, clean game. From all of you,' she said sternly, eyeing them in a way uncannily like that of Madame Hooch, the referee. 'On my whistle. One! Two! Three!' Then she whistled loudly, imitating her shrill little whistle. She let loose the snitch, which flew away immediately, and threw the quaffle high in the air. Then she flew back to the stands to sit with Hermione again.

Harry was peripherally aware of Ron and Sirius zooming after the plummeting quaffle, but he only had eyes for the snitch. He raced off toward the opposite goal, his eyes never leaving the tiny glittering ball whizzing around the base of the fifty foot goal posts.

He felt something zip past him and looked around to see James ahead of him. He sped up until they were shoulder to shoulder. He pushed the broom a bit harder and pulled ahead a few feet. His father caught up, and passed him by an inch.

They were neck and neck, a few feet away, when the snitch changed its mind, flitting up. Harry pulled up, James at his heels, and pushed the broom almost past its endurance. It shook under his fingers, shuddered its protest, but he managed to hand on. James came up underneath him, obviously waiting for the snitch to change direction again. He was disappointed.

The snitch darted to the left. Harry swerved, almost unseating himself, and gave chase. It was within reach, fluttering inches beyond his outstretched fingertips. He stretched himself out flat against the broom, decreasing wind resistance and increasing his speed by a fraction. It was all the help he needed.

He felt his fingers wrap around the cool, golden little ball, its wings fluttering against his palm. He coasted to a stop, glancing triumphantly over at his father. James was staring at him in unflattering disbelief; it was the only time he had been beaten at his greatest talent! He had been close on Harry's heels throughout the chase but hadn't had the nerve to push his broom as far as Harry had.

Harry whistled loud and clear, and Ron looked at him. He held up the snitch, still wriggling in his hand, and Ron beamed at him. The red-headed boy threw the quaffle back to Sirius and sped toward Harry, leaving Sirius a little confused.

'Yes! We won!' he yelled as he dismounted beside Harry. They heard cheering and turned to see Hermione standing on her seat, applauding. 'Best two-on-two game you've ever played,' he said, slapping Harry on the back. Harry turned to smirk at his father and Sirius who were walking over, talking quietly amongst themselves.

'Good game, Vince,' James sighed in a disgruntled kind of way, holding out his hand for Harry to shake. 'I guess you beat us. Only ones to ever beat us, in fact! I'd put you on the team but, hey! I'm not displacing myself!' he said. 'And you two were fairly well matched, but he's already on the team so I'm not replacing him, either. Sorry,' he said, gesturing to Sirius and Ron.

'That's okay, as long as we can fly whenever we want to and fill in if any of you can't play. Top of the swing list?' Harry asked expectantly.

'Of course,' Sirius said. 'You guys can really fly! Wish we had room on the team. Maybe we could kick off Weasley; this kid's a better chaser than Arthur is,' he suggested, gesturing to Ron.

'Wait just a second,' Ron said slowly. 'Do you mean to say that Arthur Weasley is on the Quidditch team?' he asked, dumbfounded. 'Really? Is he any good?'

'He's a decent chaser,' James said. 'You're better, though. Want to take his place on the team?'

'I'm tempted but, no, I don't want to kick him off the team; it'd make me feel all guilty,' Ron muttered, looking at his feet.

Harry was surprised, too. He had no idea that Arthur Weasley flew. Of course, it should've been expected, seeing as every single one of his numerous children were gifted Quidditch players! Except Percy, but who ever cared about him? Somehow, it still came as a shock.

'Well, good game, anyway,' James said. 'Come on, I bet I could smash you both in wizard chess,' he waged slyly.

'Me, yes. Charlie, no way,' Harry chuckled. 'I've been trying to beat him for six and a half years and I still haven't managed it! No one at our old school could. He's a wizard chess champion!' he gloated, patting Ron on the back. Ron beamed confidently at him.

'Come on, James, I'll take you anytime. I'll even bet you on it!' Ron said, turning and sprinting back up toward the castle.

'Oh, you are so on!' James called, running after him, the other four right behind them, laughing all the way.


	7. Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7

The next day, much gloating on Harry and Ron's part ensued due to their Quidditch match and Ron beating both Sirius and James at least twice at wizard chess. This put James in a rather sulky mood but Sirius was a good sport, laughing and joking with them.

'James, cheer up, mate! It's only a few games,' Harry coaxed, patting him on the back.

'He's just pouting, Vince,' Sirius said. 'You two are the only ones who've ever beaten him at, like, anything. Sort of pitiful, really,' he added. James shot him an acidic look and he raised his hands in mock surrender. 'Just saying.'

'Yeah, you're such a killjoy,' Lily said. 'Lighten up.'

'Why should I?' he spat at her. Lily shrugged.

'I don't know. So you won't be a total dick to your friends?' she suggested bitingly. He rolled his eyes at her and she stormed off in a huff, Hermione following behind.

'What's her problem?' he asked, staring after her, an indefinable look on his face.

'You,' Harry answered, watching her stamp across the courtyard as well. James gave him a questioning look. 'Isn't it obvious? She likes you. Duh.' James just stared at him for a second, then to where Lily had disappeared to, then back to him.

'Really?' he said. It looked as though this simple statement had been a revelation. 'Lily? Like me? Ha! That's like the opposite of what it usually is. We fight all the time,' he scoffed.

'So do Miranda and Charlie but I know full well that they like each other,' Harry said, jerking his thumb over his shoulder at Ron.

'I do not!' he said hotly.

'Yes, you do,' Harry said knowingly. Ron tried to hold firm, but wilted under Harry's shrewd gaze.

'Okay, maybe a little, but don't tell her!' he pleaded.

'Have I told her yet? Then why would you think I would?' Harry said before returning to James. He still seemed to be trying to grasp the concept of him and Lily.

'Well, I have to admit,' Sirius said, clapping a hand on James' shoulder. 'You two would make a lovely couple.' James slapped his hand. 'Ouch! Hey, it's not my fault you two look good together.'

'Well, this complicates things,' James said, looking thoughtful.

'Why?'

'Because now I'm going to be all confused and emotional and that's not the image I uphold! I'm supposed to be the calm and smooth one, not the confused and girl-crazy one,' James said, standing up and beginning to pace.

'You're not girl-crazy?' Sirius asked dubiously, crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow at him.

'Oh, shut it!'

'What are you getting your panties in a bunch over, anyway?' Ron asked.

'It's Lily! She's my friend. What if you're wrong and she doesn't like me? I ask her out and she says no and things get all awkward? I'd rather not go through that. So what do I do?' he asked, stopping his pacing and staring at them incredulously.

'You know, you're not nearly as smooth with the ladies as I heard,' Harry mumbled, rolling his eyes. 'All you have to do is trust us. Ask her out. We've had Miranda talking to her and we know what she thinks. It's like having a spy, you know? We know. Trust us,' he said slyly.

'Uh, okay,' James said lamely. Now that he knew for sure that Lily liked him, his own feelings were suddenly up and about. It was a little disconcerting, confusing to say the least. One thing he knew: he had never had this many emotions awoken by one woman.

Harry and Ron parted ways with Sirius and James--who was still confused and introverted--at the door to their common room. They flopped down in the overstuffed armchairs, laughing.

'Ha! Did you see the look on James's face?' Ron said. 'Who knew he was so thick-headed?'

'He's just like I was,' Harry commented. 'Remember how long it took for me to notice Ginny liked me? Like, six years! And you and Hermione still haven't taken each others' subliminal hints…loser.'

'Hey! If I wanted to ask out Hermione, I would have done it by now,' Ron protested stubbornly, folding his arms resolutely against his chest. Harry smirked knowingly at his friend.

'Oh, really?' he said slowly, raising a disbelieving eyebrow at Ron, who faltered under his steady gaze.

'Er, sure I would! In fact, I'll ask her when she gets back,' he decided doggedly, giving Harry a level stare. When Harry said nothing, 'Okay, I promise that as soon as Hermione gets back, I will ask her if sh…'

'Ask Hermione what?'

Ron froze, a look of horror at his recent promise on his face. 'Well, speak of the devil,' he muttered, turning around to face Hermione slowly, his resolve faltering. 'Hi, Hermione!' he greeted brightly.

'Yes, hello, Hermione,' Harry said, thoroughly enjoying Ron's predicament. 'We were just talking about you. Ron has something he would like to ask you.' Ron glared at Harry in frustration as his friend sat back, smirking and looking satisfied.

'Uh, well…er, yes…well, that is to say…' Ron stammered, his ears getting steadily redder in his nervousness.

'Ron!' Hermione said exasperatedly. 'If you have something to ask me, just come out with it.'

Ron nodded and took a few deep breathes, his eyes closed and his hands fidgeting with the hem of his jumper. 'Hermione…' he began slowly. 'I would like to ask you if…if you…would like to, maybe, go…go out with me sometime…like, maybe, the next Hogsmeade weekend?' he choked out, his cheeks blushing as well.

Hermione stared at him for a moment. He wasn't meeting her gaze, more just staring at his shoes in embarrassment. Hermione silently lifted his chin to look him in the eye.

'Ron…I would love to! Now was that so hard?' she said pleasantly, giving him a hug. Ron looked as though he might just explode with happiness. Harry grinned at them both from armchair by the fire.

'No…I guess not,' Ron said, hugging her back ecstatically. Harry could tell he was lying; it had been one of the most terrifying moments of his life.

'Good. Then we'll go to Hogsmeade together. _Together._'

Ron's smile practically lit up the room. Harry thumped him on the back approvingly.

'Good boy, Ron, and it only took you seven years to get around to it.'

Ron laughed at this back-handed compliment, and Hermione pinked slightly, though she was smiling too. 'And now, I can brag to James that if I can ask out the girl I like, he can too.'

'Yeah,' Harry agreed, a grin sliding over his face.


	8. Chapter 8

CHAPTER 8

"James!" Harry called, running to catch up with his father.

"Hey, Vince, what's up?" James asked, pausing to allow Harry to draw up alongside him.

"I just wanted to tell you that Charlie managed to ask Miranda out," Harry informed him, grinning.

"Oh, well, that's just great, then, isn't it?" James sighed, rolling his eyes. "Even Charlie can get a date with the girl he likes, and I can't? That's got to be good for my image," he added sarcastically.

"I bet you could, too, if you tried," Harry said, nodding over to where Hermione and Lily sat talking animatedly. "According to Miranda, she'd jump at the chance."

Harry eyed James, seeing his internal struggle. He took a deep breath, nodded, squared his shoulders, and headed over. Harry grinned as his father put on his signature little half-smile and ran his fingers through his hair, giving that wind-swept look he was so partial to.

"Hey, ladies," he said, putting as much charm as he could into his voice. Hermione smiled at him, but Lily gave him a shrewd look.

"Hey, James. What are you up to that's got you all happy like that?" she asked suspiciously.

"Nothing, nothing," James said innocently, sitting down beside her, one foot up on the bench, his arm around his knee. "Just wondering if you'd like to go to Hogsmeade with me."

Lily looked around, wondering if he was really talking to her. "Me?" she asked, a small grin sliding across her face. "Me?" James nodded at her. "Sure, why not?" she said, hugging him. "See you then." Lily jumped up, pulling Hermione with her into the castle, giggling. "Omigod! I can't believe it!" she squealed as soon as they were out of earshot, jumping up and down.

"I know! Now we both have dates for Hogsmeade! We can double," Hermione suggested happily. "Now all we need to do is get Vince a date. Got anyone in mind?"

"How about Jessica Lorrel? She's a Ravenclaw, but she's really sweet and pretty, and I think they'd hit it off real nice." Lily suggested, leading the way to the Great Hall. "We can set them up on a blind date! I've always wanted to do that to someone."

"Perfect. He won't jump at it, but I can get him to do anything," Hermione assured her. "Now all we have to do is pick out outfits, and build some tension," she said playfully.

"Perfect."

James watched them go, amazed that she had actually taken him up on his offer. He could feel a slap-happy grin sliding up on his face, and he was astounded to find that he liked it. He laid back on the bench for a moment, ran his fingers through his hair again, then bounded up and over to Harry.

"What'd she say?" Harry asked, already knowing the answer.

"She said yes!" James informed him. "But was there ever any doubt that she would say anything less?" he added cockily, smirking. Harry just laughed and shook his head, putting his arm around his father's shoulders. Together they went to go find Ron and Sirius and tell them the good news.

"Well, now that me and Charlie have dates, that just leaves you and Sirius, doesn't it?" James said speculatively.

"No, I don't really need a date," Harry said quickly.

"Sure you do," James pressed. "How awkward would you feel palling around with two couples? That'd make you a fifth wheel, wouldn't it? No one wants to be a fifth wheel when they could make it a triple date."

"It's just…I sort of have this, er…this girl back home…" Harry said, thinking of Ginny for the first time since the time jump.

"Is she your girlfriend?" James asked, sounding genuinely curious.

Harry frowned. Was Ginny his girlfriend? Things had gotten a little hazy at the end of last year, when he'd still thought he was going off to find Horcruxes. He had broken up with her. But neither of them had wanted it to end. But they had never gotten back together either. Not officially at least. "I really…don't know," he admitted. James laughed.

"Then you're free to go out with whomever you would like to," James told him. "Sirius will have no problem finding a date; he has a bunch of girls practically on call—_almost_ as many as I have—and he'd probably lend you one if you asked him to. We can make it a quadruple date!" he suggested exuberantly, jostling Harry's shoulder encouragingly.

"Yeah, I guess we could," Harry chuckled. One Hogsmeade day with another girl couldn't be considered cheating on Ginny when they weren't even technically dating, could it? No, it couldn't, he decided. So he and James headed off toward Gryffindor tower, where Ron was trying to school Sirius in the finer aspects and more complex strategies of chess.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: I would like to point out a few mistakes that I made in the concept of the story (which I began when I was maybe 12, so you have to give me SOME credit for that!).**

**1) Yes, I know that I got the Headmaster wrong. It should still be Dumbledore, as he was Headmaster in Hagrid's time fifty years ago, as illustrated in Tom Riddle's memory in the second book. I, however, did not take that into consideration when writing the story originally, as I had only ever read the books once at the time.**

**2) I know that Arthur and Molly Weasley would most likely not have been at Hogwarts at the same time as Harry's parents. They would, logically, be much older than Harry's parents, as they had five children before Harry was born, and Harry's parents were not that old when they had him.**

**I apologize for these mistakes (and any others that I have not realized in the rereading of this story so far) but it is too far into the story to rewrite it now. Just bear with me, and employ the suspension of disbelief tactic. K? K.**

**Thank you!**

CHAPTER 9

Harry, Ron and Hermione were lounging in their common room at the end of the day. Hermione was doing homework on the couch, Harry was sitting in an armchair and staring at his homework without really attempted to do it, and Ron was lying on his back on the rug before the fireplace, watching a snitch zoom around the room and making spastic grabs for it whenever it passed. Eventually Harry got tired of his pathetic efforts. He sighed heavily and snatched it out of the air on his first try. Ron made a noise of annoyance.

"There's a reason you're not a Seeker, Ron," he said. Ron rolled his eyes, and Hermione giggled at him. Without the distraction the snitch gave him, Ron rolled over onto his stomach and pulled one of the muggle paperback novels that Hermione had someone dug out of the library towards him, flipping through it dubiously. They stayed in silence for a few more moments.

"Hermione?" Harry asked after a while.

"Yes, Harry?" she said without looking up.

"Do you think…well, is time, you know, moving on at home?" he asked thoughtfully. She looked up at him confusedly. "I mean, is continuing without us? If we go back, will it be to the exact moment we left, or will it be however many days in the future as we've spent in the past?"

"I don't know, Harry," she sighed. "I would hope that we'd go back to the moment we left, in which case it wouldn't matter if time continued or not because we wouldn't see a future without us, because we would've come back. And if we go back days after we left, then I guess we'll have some explaining to do."

"That is," Ron said quietly from the floor, "_if_ we ever go back."

"Don't think like that, Ron!" Hermione chastised him. "We won't get to go back if we don't have the will to try and find a way!"

"What do you think will happen?" Harry asked, still looking pensive. "If we don't go back, what will happen? Will we still be born, only to disappear at the same time? And if we stay in touch with the Marauders and the Weasleys, would we be involved in our own childhoods? And if we are, then will we still turn out the same way? Will everything still _happen_ the same way? What if we affect ourselves in a way that makes us less likely to do any of this? What if the versions of ourselves that we help create don't do things the same way that we do now? What if we're screwing up the timeline in a way that changes everything? What if we're meddling too much? Would it be better, safer, for us to just hole up in a house somewhere in some muggle town and try not to affect anyone around us, for fear of changing our past, and our future? I mean if—"

"Harry!" Ron said loudly, interrupting his tirade, which had been coming faster and faster, and was beginning to sound rather panicky. Harry looked down at him as though he had forgotten he was there. "There's no point in lingering on 'what-if's, mate. What happens happens, and there's no point in worrying about it. Besides, how do you know you weren't involved in your own childhood? Maybe this has all happened before, and we'll only turn out the way we are _because_ we ourselves were involved in our own lives? Maybe taking ourselves out of the equation would change things more than leaving ourselves in? Ever thought of that?" Harry and Hermione both stared at him in surprise. "What? I can be profound, too!"

"Yes, well, I think we've had enough philosophizing for one night, don't you?" Hermione asked, snapping her textbook shut and rolling up her scroll. "I'm going to bed; we may not have lessons tomorrow, but Lily and I are going into Hogsmeade to buy new outfits to next weekend. Oh, and Harry? Don't bother asking Sirius to get you a date; we've already got one for you."

"Oh, have you?" he asked skeptically, leaning forward, his elbows on his knees. "And who is this 'we'?"

"Your mother and I, of course," she said, standing up with her things in her arms. "Her name is Jessica Lorrel, she's a Ravenclaw seventh year, and Lily says she's very nice. On the Quidditch team, too. Beater, I think."

"Who doesn't like a girl who knows how to whack a few balls when she needs to?" Ron said quietly, sniggering. Harry had a great deal of trouble trying to stifle his laugh at the look of indignant horror on Hermione's face.

"Ronal Weasley!" she raged. "How _dare_ you say something like that? I have half a mind to stand you up next week! How would you like going to Hogsmeade alone, hm?"

Ron's face went from an amused smirk to pleading. He sat up quickly, saying, "No, Hermione, please! I'll behave, I promise! No more derogatory comments, I swear!" He held up his right hand and put the other on his heart. The puppy-dog look on his face was so endearing that Hermione could only hold her glare for a few moments.

"Fine. I'll give you a second chance," she said sniffily. "But one more comment like that one and you'll find yourself on the curb. Goodnight." She stomped to her room, slamming the door. Only then did Harry burst out laughing.

"That was a good one, mate!" he chuckled. "Perfect timing, too." He gave Ron a high-five and stood up, momentarily forgetting that his homework was on his lap. It all fell to the floor, his ink well smashing and splattering everything with ink. Harry cursed and fumbled in his pocket for his wand. He siphoned the ink off the parchment and magicked it back into the pot. Ron helped him gather his homework to put it back in his bag.

"Uh, Harry?" he said, holding out a piece of parchment.

"Yeah?"

"You're not supposed to be Harry there." He pointed to the top of Harry's divination homework, where he had written "Harry Potter."

"Shit," Harry mumbled. He tapped the page and muttered a neat little spell Hermione had taught him to fix errors in their homework so they didn't have to rewrite things or scratch anything out. The letters morphed into "Vince Scheuren" and Harry nodded satisfactorily.

"Er, that's the only page you've done that on, right? You haven't turned anything in with your real name on it, right?" Ron asked, sounding worried.

"I doubt I have," Harry assured him. Secretly, it worried him too. _Had_ he written his real name on any of his assignments? He couldn't remember if he had or not. "No, I don't think so. Someone would've said something by now if I had."

"Yeah, alright. If you're sure," Ron said. He didn't sound sure. But he told Harry goodnight and went to bed. Harry looked through the rest of his papers to make absolutely sure that all of them were written by "Vince," then stuffed them into his bookbag. Then he headed off to bed.

Professor Trelawney was glancing through the stacks of homework on her desk, not really reading any of them. She just checked to make sure that everyone in her classes had turned something in, and that it wasn't complete gibberish. Very few people actually understood the art of Divination, so she didn't bother with trying to correct most of them, as there really was no point. If one did not possess the Inner Eye, one could not excel in her class.

A few minutes into her menial task, a name caught her eye which was not on the class roster. She seemed to have an essay written by a Harry Potter. She could not recall ever teaching such a boy. She wondered vaguely if he was a relative of James Potter, but she was fairly certain that James was an only child, as was his father, so this Harry couldn't likely be a cousin of his. Curiously, she picked up the paper to read some of it. As soon as her fingers touched the parchment, a series of images flashed in her Mind's Eye: an older James holding a baby boy in his arms, beaming down at him in an unmistakably paternal manner; James holding a toy broomstick out to a young toddler with black hair and green eyes who was smiling toothlessly at his father; a blinding flash of green light; the little boy in a basket on a doorstep, clutching a letter in its tiny hands; and an image of a boy who looked strikingly similar to James, only with green eyes instead of blue, who she recognized as the new student Vince Scheuren.

She realized with a jolt of suspicion that Vince was the only person from whom she had not received an essay. She gasped as realization hit her. She sat for a moment in shocked silence. Then, her hand trembling, she tapped her wand on the paper and the letters in "Harry Potter" morphed into those in "Vince Scheuren." Nothing good could come of letting the boy know she knew of his charade. She would let him keep pretending, and watch as the situation unfurled. It was bound to be interesting, after all. It had to be if there were Potters involved.


End file.
